loracs: (Girl with Pearl Earring)
I love hearing the rain splat in big, fast drops. The wind for short bursts, pushing it sideways. It's best enjoyed sitting in the warm office, looking out. There's a very delicate "tink, tink, tink" sound from the kitchen when the rain hits the metal on the roof and the sound vibrates down and is amplified by the exhaust hood over the stove. I adore rain, even when I have to be out in it - exasperatingly wet, but still appreciated.

Sometimes I take a few minutes to sit in the car when it's raining, listening. It takes me back to my midwest youth and all the rainy days I'd go sit in the hayloft. Rhythmic tip tapping on the galvanized tin roof just above my head. Sometimes, when the loft was almost full of hay, I would lay down and the tin would be less than a foot away from my face. It was too dark to read. I'd lay there, thinking the deep thoughts of the young, often slipping into a light sleep. Sometimes,instead of hay there was alfalfa, so sweet smelling. I don't remember sneezing very often. Today I'm sure I'd have a full blown allergy attack.

These were Illinois summer rains, when we spent time on the farm. The kind of rain you can sit outside in and not get a chill. The kind of rain you hoped for so you could watch the field of corn or wheat almost grow an inch over night. The kind of rain when I didn't feel sorry for the cows out in the field. The kind of rain that inspired my mom to take a break from cooking, cleaning and laundry just to sit with me on the back porch, sipping something cold, watching the rain and talking. These were the story rains. If I couldn't be out running around, I'd be bored. I missed my friends in the city, where we lived during the school year. We only had a small tv that picked up 3 stations on a good day. I often ran out of books or old Readers Digest's to read.

These were the times I heard her childhood stories. Stories I must write down. Stories of growing up during the depression, her father dead and her mother speaking very, very limited English. These are the stories that come to me on a rainy day.

Yucky Day

Jan. 10th, 2006 02:33 pm
loracs: (Girl with Pearl Earring)
Today I am making calls to teachers to inform them I've had to cancel their class because of low enrollment. I hate this. Where are all our students!

Whine, whine, yes please, I'd like a glass of wine.

And then there's the calls to the folks who did sign up for the class - we have to disappoint them too.
loracs: (Girl with Pearl Earring)
The death of Jo Jo's partner today will be very rough on her.

She has, since her first wedding at 19, always gone from one husband and/or live in boyfriend to the next with very little time in between (from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, at most.) During these short unattached periods, she had one or more of her children living with her. Now she has one old, half blind, diabetic dog. My sister will be 66 yrs old Jan. 17.

She is a strong woman in many ways. She has made some bad choices and survived. Three of her 5 major relationships have been with alcoholics and another was with a "dry drunk" who carried a gun and had a very mean streak.

She's raised 3 children through all the turmoil of these first few relationships and has been very involved in the child care of her 4 grandsons.

She survived losing almost everything she owned (including 2 much loved dogs)in a fire about 8 years ago.

She worked hard up until her retirement 2 years ago. All her jobs were very physical. The last decade she worked in an Illinois State care facility. She took care of people, most often poor people, who had no where else to go at the end of their lives. She worked through the AIDS crisis, when she watched many young men come through the doors in an ambulance and leave in a hearse. She changed thousands of soiled bedsheets, emptied bed pans and gave sponge baths. Lifted and rearrange frail bodies, trying her best not to cause them any pain. She had friendly co-workers, but she also has to deal with some of the nurses and doctors who looked down on her. After 10 years she came away with a small pension to add to her social security. And she moved to a small town in Missouri to be near 2 of her children.

These last couple of years have been good. She said they'd been less stressed out about money. She was retired, he'd been retired since they met. She told me she wasn't ready to let him go.

Are we ever?
loracs: (Default)
Just got a call from my oldest sister. Her partner of 14 years (Matt) just died this morning. He was 72 years old and not in the best of health. A smoker and a drinker, but they seemed to have a good relationship. My sister is a bit of a drama queen and he was able to calm her down. He went through the death of our parents, a move out of state, the drama of my nephew and his 4 kids in and out of their house. The oldest is 14, so Matt is the only grampa they remember.
loracs: (puppy gift)

Gilly Greeting Card 2005
Originally uploaded by Gillygrrrl.
Wishing Everyone Health, Joy, Laughter and Prosperity in 2006

It worked!

Dec. 29th, 2005 10:16 am
loracs: (robot)
[livejournal.com profile] stonebender's xmas present finally came yesterday - an espresso maker. It's a Gaggia Deluxe. http://www.wholelattelove.com/Gaggia/newcoffee.cfm I told him the coffee maker broke this morning so he'd have to do without until we replaced it.  Then he came into the kitchen and immediately spotted it on the counter. Big Eye Look of Astonishment, Man, oh man there are lots of ways to ruin espresso! The first cup needed work.  I've commenced climbing the learning curve. Right grind, right tamp pressure, 20 - 30 seconds to brew 2 to 21/2 oz (the golden rule.) It's all in the details.
loracs: (puppy gift)
But the lasagna sauce is simmer away along with 20 Italian sausages and I have the veggies cut up for the soup and two dips mixed.

Still trying to get my mailing labels to print but I have, at least, started stuffing the cards in the envelopes and putting the return labels on.

Time to go stir the sauce. The house smells so goooood.
loracs: (xmas lights on star)
All presents are present, accounted for and wrapped.

All food is purchased and in the fridge waiting for it's moment.

I shot the Gilly Greeting card yesterday and just need to print them all out.

I'm having the hardest time getting mailing labels out of MSWorks, so I put them into Excel. Now I'm having the hardest time getting labels out of the mail merge into Word. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've done it with the wizard, I've done it without the wizard. I have 104 addresses, so it should only need 4 pages (30 labels per page), but it is setting it up to print 104 pages! First page, label 1 - 30 okay. Second page takes label #2, puts it in the first spot and then fills in with 3- 31. Third page, puts label #3 in the first spot and then fills in with 4 - 32 etc. I sent the file to [livejournal.com profile] dbubley at work today and she put into Access and set up the labels report. Sent it back to me and I was very surprised to find I did not have Access on my home computer. I thought for sure I did, but it's not in my MS folder or found in a search. I guess I have a less than "professional" version of the MS Suite. So I still need to figure this out pretty soon or I'll hand write the damn things! I think I remember how pen and paper works. ;-)

Need to write the xmas letter to send out to some of our family/friends.

Tomorrow is for food making so on xmas day I can do the merry/eating making. I'll start the sauce for the lasagna in the morning so it can cook. I'm serving lasagna, Italian sausage (cooked in the sauce), a ham, potatoes au gratin, veggie soup (with a chicken stock) in the crockpot, green beans, green salad, various chips and dips, cheeses, crackers, couple types of olives, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, pepperocines plus [livejournal.com profile] tracytreefrog is bringing flan and a crab salad.

For dessert, I also have a pumpkin pie, crumble top apple pie, a few cookies, very decadent chocolate truffles and rum balls. I suspect no one will leave hungry! Speaking of which, I just realized I'm starving. All I've had today was some soup, salad and a Ruben sandwich for "brunch". Wonder if I can find anything to eat?

Best Quote

Dec. 20th, 2005 01:26 pm
loracs: (Default)
A 6 year old, who had not stopped talking from 9 am until 4 pm, was sitting around waiting for his mother to pick him up yesterday. He'd only been out of class a few minutes. He looked at me with these mournful eyes and said "I'm so bored, I can't think." And then proceeded to crumple to the floor.
loracs: (Default)
A rousing game of Red Light/Green Light with 16 children from 6 to 12 years old. Can I take a nap now?
loracs: (Girl with Pearl Earring)
Tomorrow is the first day of our children's art camp. I need to be at work before 7:30 am. I'm feeling particularly anxious about this because my co-worker, Tomye, who usually works more with children will not be there. We have two teachers lined up and one aid coming in. But I'm the one responsible for it all. My new boss has really let Tomye and I run things on the Studio side. We have 16 kids signed up, but I know we will have several walks ins. I hope we don't get too many because it's always hard to look at the parent and say "sorry we're full" esp. with the child right there. And I know we are one of the best deals around. 9 am - 4 pm, M-F for $100.

And we might have the final walk through for the ventilation and electrically modifications. I know we have a problem in the darkroom. The original plans called for several 4 plexes put in a place that would not allow all the enlargers stations to be powered without using extension cords. So we came up with a plan to put plug mold across the top of the stations allowing everything to reach. Now the last thing I heard in email said the electrical inspectors didn't like it attached to something less stationary than a wall. So they want to put them on the wall, which would take even longer extension cords than the first non-workable solution. I've been the staff point person working with Public Works Agency on this and it's been nothing but a headache since we started. And now we are sooooo close to completion.

You'd think I'd be use to this after working for a municipality for 18 years but I'm so much closer to the "crap" than I've ever been before.
loracs: (xmas lights on star)
Saw this so many places including [livejournal.com profile] firecat and [livejournal.com profile] serenejournal

You know I had to take it! )
loracs: (Default)

A few days ago I went with [livejournal.com profile] dbubley to an appointment with one of her doctors, Dr. K.  I've been to most of her appointments with this doctor and I'm pretty verbal, i.e. asking questions.  And Dr. K. knows we are domestic partners and we've strayed off of medical talk a few times.  Dr. K. has mentioned a few things about her family, she's Muslim, not married and has several nieces and nephews she's close to, that sort of thing. 

I was wearing my alt-poly con t-shirt and Dr. K. asks me what it means. 

[livejournal.com profile] dbubley  couldn't wait to see what I would say.  The question caught me off guard, so I didn't have the usual "it's an on-line group that gets together every year" when I don't want to go into the whole poly explanation.  I answered her honestly with a short "it's about people who believe having more than one relationship is okay" and then I used the shorthand word "non-monogamy".  Her response was "Oh, you mean legal cheating."

Oxymoron's R Us

loracs: (toy elephant)
[livejournal.com profile] cassidyrose!  See you later tonight.
loracs: (Default)
till I have to remove the hair dye. If I'm really lucky I might get in bed by 3 am and asleep by 3:01am
nite
loracs: (puppy gift)
I'm exhausted but feeling pretty together. Of course, that may all change after I get a few hours sleep and it gets closer. I had lots of help from [livejournal.com profile] serenejournal tonight in the prep department. Lot's of washing, cutting and mixing of foods happened. She even understood and agreed with the post-it on all the plates and bowls so I know what goes where. It really cuts down on that "oh no I'm out of bowls" or "I need THAT plate to put the xyz on. Now where am I going to put the abc?" And I'm less likely to forget something if I have an empty bowl with a post-it on it sitting on the table.

I have lots of dips: non-dairy onion dip, salsa, peanut butter/yogurt, spinach, ajvar (eggplant & peppers), blue cheese and ranch.

I was going to list more foods but first I found I had spelled "yogurt" as "yoga" and then I was falling asleep at the keyboard. I'd better dye my hair before I totally crash.

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loracs: (Default)
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